Stability Ball Workout For Strong Core Abs & Legs

Stability balls (also known as exercise balls, balance balls, Swiss balls, or fitness balls) are not just for maternity or to roll around on. Although they look unimportant, they actually bring a whole range of benefits when used correctly! These benefits include:

Improved strength.

Cardio endurance.

Core stability.

Balance.

Basic moves, for example, push-ups, squats and planks, being performed on an unstable surface, like the stability ball, means that muscles get more attention. Stability balls can also be beneficial for getting back into shape, if you have been out of training for whatever reason. This is because they reduce muscle and spinal strain during certain movements.

If you only use a stability ball for crunches or comfort to sit on, then try and enjoy a new way to adjust traditional exercises into multi-muscle movers that will benefit your body and give you satisfying results.

Below is a workout compiled to give you enough to learn new techniques and feel the difference!

After you complete the warm-up, perform each exercise for the recommended number of reps, back-to-back with little or no rest in between.

Perform the full circuit one to three times total on up to four non-consecutive days a week for best results.

You will need a set of dumbbells (five to 25 pounds, depending on your fitness level) and a stability ball.

Warm-Up:

Get your body ready for the workout ahead of you with this complete body move exercise.

Stability Ball Plank:

Begin with elbows on top of the ball, lined up under your shoulders, hands clasped together, feet hip-width apart.

Brace your abs and keep your chest and stomach off the ball completely.

Now write your full name, first, middle and last, with your elbows on top of the ball.

Make this harder by bringing feet together or easier by widening your stance.

Y-And-I Extension:

Use the ball to increase your range of motion and challenge your balance with this great back-strengthening exercise.

How To Do It:

Begin balancing on the ball, with the ball positioned between your belly button and pelvis.

Your legs should be extended straight back, hip-width apart.

Extend your spine and lift your chest off the ball, reaching your arms into a Y position in front of you, with thumbs pointed up.

Lift your rib cage off the ball, further extending your spine, as your arms reach down by your sides into an I position, squeezing your shoulder blades back and together with your thumbs still facing up.

Perform 20 reps.

Reaching Rear Lunge:

Challenge the muscles from your ankles all the way up to your hips with this rear lunge.

How To Do It:

Stand about one foot in front of the ball with your right knee bent, the top of your foot pressed into ball, holding dumbbells by your sides.

Row your weight back by bending your right elbow in by your side, pulling the dumbbell to the side of your torso as your left knee bends, curling the ball toward your body.

Extend your leg and arm back out.

Perform 15 reps.

Repeat on opposite side.

Stability Ball Hamstring Curl:

The backs of the legs can be tough to target, but this exercise is guaranteed to make your hamstrings work!

How To Do It:

Begin in a bridge on the ball: Lie face up with your knees bent and hip-width apart, feet flexed, heels pressed into top of the ball with your arms extended by your sides pressed into the floor and hips lifted.